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Cyber-Mastiff Handler
"Augur scan indicates target is spire-bound on tertiary deck thoroughfare. Initiate attack pattern omicron-delta. Confirming kill-order. Chain-jaws active. Awaiting confirmation. Kill-order confirmed. Implement attack pattern. Happy hunting!" –Borus Vhalkov, Arbites Cyber-mastiff Handler The heavy scraping of metallic claws, the static of heavy breathing transmitted through rough vox-casters, the roar of data barks coordinating a hunt, these are the sounds of doom for criminals throughout the Precincts of the Calixis Sector. The Subrique-pattern Cyber-mastiffs are a well-known sight on those worlds which have a strong Arbites presence. When not needed for a man-hunt, they remain within the walls of the Calixian Precinct Fortresses or in the training yards, running coordinated attack and subdual patterns with their master and a specially trained Tech-adept. When on the hunt, these plasteel beasts hound their prey, sniffing their trail using rare chemicals from the ocean of Landunder in cybernetic sense-nodes, resting only when they have their prey or are commanded to stop. At the signal from their master's unique augmetic, the beasts engage their quarry and either dispatch or disable the criminal, depending on their master's instruction. To their comrades within the Calixian Precincts, the Cyber-mastiff Handler is not just a single valued ally, but often acts with the effectiveness of an entire Arbites squad. A Judge (or similarly high ranking Adeptus Arbites official) may choose to use some political might or call in a few favors to have Arbitrators trained to command a Subrique-Pattern Cybermastiff. This is a rare instance (often only for Arbitrators serving away from their Precinct Fortress, such as those working with the Inquisition) and their skill with the charge is limited by their lack of augmentation. The vast majority of Cyber-mastiff Handlers are Tech-Priests, agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who serve the Imperium within the Precincts of Calixis Sector, and caring for their charges. Handlers spend years with their hounds, training them for the hunt and the kill. They spend countless hours running their charges through drills and training simulations, implanting commands and attack patterns into their cogitator-augmented brains through sheer repetition and rote. All of this training is culminated on the beasts' first actual hunt, in which the handler takes his charges into the field to be put to the test. Giving signals directly to their built-in vox receivers, the Cyber-mastiff Handler is able to coordinate extremely complex engagements through a dizzying number of pre-programmed patterns. Using powerful auspex arrays and visual sensorium data from the beasts themselves, Handlers can control their beasts at incredible ranges, directing their attacks from several miles distant. Many Cyber-mastiff Handlers do more than instruct and train their charges. When chosen for their position, many who become Handlers are chosen for their proficiency with machine-spirits. While the construction and imprinting of such beasts is a mystery to all save the Tech-Priests involved in their fabrication, it is not unknown for Handlers to perform battlefield repairs and make minor but effective modifications to the original design of the Cyber-mastiff. These modifications are often expressive of the particular needs of the Tech-Priest. Those who favor close-quarters combat often apply circuit-rune scribed armor plating, and rare unguents and sacred oils to grease the melee weaponry, honing the already substantial original armaments. Handlers who specialize in tracking are known to burn rare chemicals to train the Cyber-mastiffs' olfactory sensor vanes. Still others might require their charges to carry powerful remote auspex scanners for patrol work and sniff-scan assignments. Indeed it is fairly common for a Cyber-mastiff Handler to train and maintain a stable of several constructs, modified in a number of ways, so that he might be prepared for any situation. Within the training grounds on Landunder, the specific modifications of a Cyber-mastiff Handler's creations are a point of pride among his peers. It is common for the Tech-Priests deep within Hive Subrique to build different specializations and to add an element of competition to their work, making each construct unique to the Handler or Precinct where it will serve. This competition is most often a simple matter of friendly boasting and jest, occasionally boiling over into minor rivalries. Despite this, in the face of true danger to a pack, Precinct, or Imperial peace, the hounds of several Handler's packs will work together or even sacrifice themselves for one another at their master's command; for when truly threatened they form a single, greater pack whose safety outweighs petty rivalries. Just as a Handler's Cyber-mastiffs become valued and specialized members of his own personal retinue, so too do the Acolytes of an Imperial Inquisitor form a trusted and capable cadre to be used by the Inquisitor himself, however they might be best used to combat threats to the Imperium. When requisitioned by an Inquisitor, a Cyber-mastiff Handler provides combat and retrieval as well as surveillance and security; each a service of great importance to those who serve the in the Inquisition. Indeed, what better device with which to ferret out the horrors of the Warp, which would drive a man's mind to madness, than with a pack of steel hounds as immune to madness as they are to fear itself? 'Alternate Career Rank' Those Tech-Priests who are chosen to train on Landunder, and maintain and command a Precinct's stable of Cyber-mastiffs are those who have shown remarkable promise in either technical capacity or pack-hunting skills. This decision is usually made during the early stages of training and the Tech-Priest, therefore, is likely to spend brief periods among Arbitrators who he must become accustomed to serving alongside. They spend their first several months on Landunder among the technical staff of the Precinct Tech-Priests learning the proper procedures to maintain the mechanical bodies of their future charges as well as the rituals and commands to appease and direct the machine-spirits housed within. This training is supplemented with more experience working with the Arbites, and when they have completed their instruction, the Cyber-mastiff Handler is able to work closely with both his mechanical beasts as well as the Adeptus Arbites. Required Careers: Tech-Priest Alternate Rank: Rank 1 or higher (0 XP) Benefits: Upon taking this career the Acolyte automatically receives one "Bloodhound" Cyber-mastiff and a Constructer Interface Augmetic.